Disasters happen...especially in the kitchen.
Friday afternoon when I returned from yet another grocery store run, I was greeted by the ugliest cake I've ever seen in my whole, entire life. E-vah, e-vah seen. This was not good. It was 1:15 and this poor cake had more frosting than cake (always a bad sign). Somehow, this diaster happened to Mr. Glenn (a fellow baker here at the shop). You would have thought Mr. Glenn sold my recipes to another bakeshop--the way the pissed-off-ness began seeping out of every pore on my body. Diasters happen, but at 1:15 to start another triple layer chocolate cake to be baked, cooled and decorated by 5p.m.?!?!?--sizable miracle.
Then what happened, you ask?
Well, I had to leave the kitchen immediately after viewing world's ugliest cake in order to be interviewed by Chris Boyce of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Chris is the business reporter. He's been coming into the shop since the beginning without my knowing that he writes for the Post. I'm secretly trying to marry him off, but that's a whole 'notha post.
So I sat with Chris for an hour internally aching over this disaster cake. But Lisa, the only other fellow baker, (I like to call her Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam or Lisa Ling--it all depends on the morning we're having) baked another chocolate cake while I interviewed. Thank God for Lisa!!
So then what happened?
I rushed into the kitchen because I needed to do some things (one was making asparagus and brie panini bites--so good!) for a catering job that we got at the last minute (and when I say the last minute, I mean that morning)! It was a miscommunication of sorts, but it all got done.
At 4:57p.m. I finished the cake. Pick-up was scheduled for 5:00p.m. Mr. Glenn left at 2:15p.m. Lisa stayed until 4:00p.m. I stayed until 7:00p.m. Staying until 7:00p.m. on a Friday when I know I'll be up by 4:00a.m. Saturday morning is-not-fun-.
To be honest, I was still in a stank mood Saturday morning over that pile of chocolate cake. It's no one's fault, and I'm glad it happened because now I will insure it never, ever, ever, e-vah does again. Growing into a fine business woman requires some disasters from time to time. Maintaining the calm and being a patient teacher and student is the miracle.
I always expect miracles.
1 comment:
Wow! The finished product looks beautiful! Good thing you can trust the few, the proud, the brave who stand beside you every day in your kitchen to Get. It. Done. I had a croqembouche that I was entering into a baking contest collapse, in its entirety, about 1.5 hours before it was due on location. Luckily, by the time I metroed home the caramel was made and my man was putting it back together. And I won! :)
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